I don't quite know what to make of this news. I have always been interested in how TV adapts and evolves, and our society adapts with it, sometimes to our detriment. A few things jump out at me from the quote in the article.
Katzenberg's goal is not to shrink longer-form media into a shorter format, but to create "new and different" programming that's native to mobile devices. No episode will last longer than 10 minutes, and there will be no ad breaks, with monetization coming via title sponsorships and brand integrations.
This illustrates how much things have changed from the shows of old.
I recall that talk shows of the 60s and 70s, for example, would last 90 minutes. The Tonight Show, Mike Douglas, Donahue, and many others all had a 90 minute format. The seating areas were larger, and as successive guests would take the seat next to the host, preceding guests would move down the line rather than exit the stage. This led to some great interactivity between guests, often to humorous or illuminating result. The Tonight Show in particular was known for this, as occasionally we'd be treated to the earlier version of today's "posses" gradually assembling on stage, most notably the Rat Pack or Burt Reynolds inner circle, all highlighted by Johnny Carson's genuine delight at his friends' antics. With 90 minutes of time there was plenty of time for that camaraderie to manifest, along with comedic skits and of course the introductory monologue and closing remarks.
Modern TV by comparison is becoming shallow, astonishingly so. Broadcast talk shows generally fit between 30 and 60 minutes. Deduct the commercials and those minutes of content are somewhat reduced. Reality shows are particularly repugnant, as some spend a considerable amount of time recapping the segment prior to the commercial. The HGTV shows are extremely bad with this. The old fashioned talk show panels of civilized people trading ideas and viewpoints has been replaced by rabid animals that bark over each other. The View stands out as a shining beacon of reactionary vitriol, where emotion replaces well-structured debate and the buzzword bingo is strong enough that I could play several games of that if I decided to waste my time on that show. Informational shows rarely ever offer information, and in some cases watching them could possible make the viewer stupider than when they started. The Doctors is a great example, as its basically a bunch of vapid, self-congratulatory stuffed scrubs, spouting out things that I would almost be certain they actually have no knowledge of, while they plug products and services. I have yet to see a single segment of that show where any useful information is passed to its audience, and every episode I'm burdened with viewing leaves me feeling like I've been floating down a raging river, able to reach out and touch things along the banks but unable to get a grip on them as the force of the river keeps tearing me away.
People can't be bothered to sit down and think anymore. Our meme-driven society rushes everywhere to consume, and knowledge is much increased, but wisdom doesn't seem to follow. So I guess Katzenberg, who considers himself a media savant, has determined that even shorter shows would be needed in order to drive interest. A case could be made for this, based on the old serial stories that used to be shown in theaters. I believe that in the 40s and 50s, the typical movie would be preceded by several cartoons and a newsreel or chapter of an ongoing story. Its possible that we're going to repeat those days. A serialized story could be fun, it could be interesting. But because people of that era had the capability of sitting down for an hour and absorbing things, those evolved from the 5 minute movie house serial into the hour-long serialized TV drama. Even those short serials of the golden era of film were there to be watched as an appetizer for the 90 minute movie that followed. Sometimes there was even a double feature complete with intermission. People had staying power and focus. Now, not so much.
Regarding advertising and product placement... it also illustrates how things haven't changed at all.
I understand the visceral reaction that thinking people have to product placement. In some cases it is attempted subtly but comes across as ham-handed. One that I'm particularly sensitive to is the use of the Microsoft Surface in the show Elementary. Usually there is at least a couple of instances per episode where Joan Watson seems to think its necessary to pick up a Surface and hold it up where we can all see the tiled start screen prior to her displaying a video or reading a document off it. Of course, how different is this from the old days of black and white live television? Those days of old where a particular sponsor would pay for an entire show, bookended by announcements for that product, and usually right in the middle of the show the entire cast would break the fourth wall and plug/demo the product before returning to the story like nothing happened.
I guess I'm saying the more things change the more they stay the same. I could also be saying, the more things change, the more they suck.